I was actually introduced to this idea by a comment on a forum that suggested after teacher training a job for a fixed term contract of a year should be guaranteed to allow completion of the training in full. That made sense to me, and I know that jobs like that - fixed term contract training jobs - are present in other industries, for example in television and in libraries.

I do see the value in vocational education, but was introduced to the concept that this is widely accepted, by students, as being the easy option, via Katherine Birbalsingh’s Telegraph blog. But it’s not easier, it’s just different. It’s billed as being more accessible by less able students, but should it be this way just because it’s related to a specific job?

If students on BTEC and other vocational jobs were guaranteed a year’s worth of work, or work experience, on it’s completion I think this would make this a lot more difficult. There could be job interview style application processes, involving managers from industry. They could be fired during that year of working and not end up completing their training, or receiving any money, which would put the willies up them a lot more.

Getting a vocationally trained temporary worker once a year would be super attractive to businesses in this climate as well. It sounds like it would work, and it would be a wonderful joined up work ethic establishing way of doing things if it could.

I can’t help but be super sceptical that the logistics of it would ever work though. If they are more difficult to get onto and to stay onto, where would all the students go who don’t make it? And how are industry members going to attend interview – one person from every company who is in the scheme? There would be an interview panel of 20 people.